We Love Soaps had the profound privilege of attending the Broadway Cares / Equity Fight AIDS benefit concert in New York on March 21, 2010. We spoke with many ABC stars about their reasons for participating in this event. Please enjoy this series of interviews spotlighting the commitment and devotion of these talented stars. ANTHONY GEARY (Performed “The American Dream” from "Miss Saigon" and "Dirty Rotten" from "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels")
We Love Soaps: I loved your performance tonight. When you step on stage you take command. Do you have a lot of background in Broadway?
Anthony Geary: I have never done Broadway, though I’d love to. I started on stage in musicals before I ever did TV. So it’s kind of like going home whenever I get a chance to do it.
We Love Soaps: Has it been important to you throughout your career to support HIV/AIDS organizations?
Anthony Geary: Yes.
We Love Soaps: I do recruitment for HIV vaccine trials, and I often find that a lot of people think that this issue has faded away or is no longer really an issue.
Anthony Geary: Not at all. I live in Amsterdam most of the year. The virus is very alive [there]. a lot of organizations in Europe get more support than our American organizations because people are more aware that it’s not passing, that it’s very much with us. I do whatever I can.
We Love Soaps: What is one thing someone who is reading this can do can to help ?
Anthony Geary: There are a lot of wonderful organizations you can donate to. It all starts with one person. The best thing a person can do if they can’t afford to donate is to change their attitudes toward the disease. People who have this disease are victims of a disease. They deserve our love and our compassion. The fact is that people can live with HIV now very successfully. So people should educate themselves to know that it’s no longer a death sentence with the right attention to medical care and taking of yourself. It’s like living with many other challenging situations. I think education is number one. And secondly whenever you can donate your time or money to any of the organizations, that would be a wonderful thing to do.
We Love Soaps: Anything you can preview for us about what’s coming up for Luke?
Anthony Geary: I don’t know. I’m about to leave for three weeks and I don’t know what they have for me when I come back. Right now he’s trying to get his son off phony charges of child battering.
We Love Soaps: What is the key to this successful character that has endured for over 30 years? Why do we still love Luke?
Anthony Geary: Well you have to honor the history while moving forward. You can’t get mired in the history, you can’t get mired in nostalgia. It’s like life. Life changes, but your core person doesn’t change. I’ve lived with him for 30 years, he’s my alter ego, he’s as real to me as any person I know. Maybe that’s part of it.
We Love Soaps: What have you learned from Luke?
Anthony Geary: To have courage, to take some risks. And to love the underdog.
EDITOR'S NOTE: If you would like to learn more ways to take action against the spread of HIV/AIDS, and want to learn more about the current HIV Vaccine Clinical Trials, please visit Hope Takes Action, or contact Damon at [email protected].
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- WLS TV # 17 - Broadway Cares Event
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